David Prosser shortly after his election last spring: The Supreme Court needs to be held to a higher standard, writes the former lieutenant governor.

Recent reports on the investigation of Justice David Prosser's behavior in the chambers of Justice Ann Walsh Bradley in the state Capitol on the evening of June 13 veer from the facts of the case. Let's return to those facts in order to take full measure of the status of the highest court in our state.

Prosser confessed to a Dane County Sheriff's Office detective, with his lawyer at his side, that he put his hands around Bradley's neck in her chambers. He said, "Did my hands touch her neck, yes, I admit that. . . . Did I try to touch her neck, no absolutely not, it was a total reflex." That "reflex" lasted along enough for him to "feel the warmth" of her neck.

In a meeting of the justices June 15 to discuss the incident, Bradley said to Prosser, "You put your hands on my neck in a chokehold." An eyewitness testified that no one took exception with that description.

Prosser's violent physical "reflex" reaction to frustration was consistent with his pattern of aggressive behavior in Supreme Court conferences. Prosser has called Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson a "bitch," said he would "destroy her" and that there would be a war with her. He has called Justice Patrick Crooks a "viper," and even claimed that "the judges and police in Dane County are corrupt."

Prosser explained to investigators that his frustration that evening stemmed from a perceived commitment to deliver a decision on June 13 to prevent state Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald from having to call for a revote on the legislation in question.

Those are the salient facts. They are not in dispute. The Sauk County district attorney decided no criminal charges would be made, which is not the same as saying there was no wrongdoing. Every Wisconsin resident should be concerned about the implications for us of media confusion in covering this.

In sync with too many articles and editorials on the topic, an Aug. 31 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report frames the incident by opening, "With two Supreme Court justices avoiding criminal charges last week. . . . " Just how might Bradley's behavior be construed as criminal? With that first clause of the first sentence, the reporter suggests the victim of the assault was equally at fault with its perpetrator. For domestic and workplace violence victims everywhere, the media must stop implying their complicity if we are to bring that violence to an end.

Perhaps the better way to report this is as a case study in bullying, one that unfortunately unfolds in our highest court. Our children know how dangerous this can be. And they would likely identify those justices who gloss over the serious nature of both physical and verbal assaults issuing from Prosser as textbook enablers.

But the bully himself is the source of the problem, particularly when that bully does not recognize his behavior for what it is. According to the police reports, Prosser asked what any self-respecting man does when he finds his hands on a woman's neck. The proper answer, of course, is that a self-respecting man doesn't "find his hands" around a woman's neck in the first place.

This incident arose in the context of a state mired in partisan conflict. Putting hands on a woman's neck should not be a partisan issue. People of all political beliefs can be united in condemning abusive behavior.

Prosser betrays his disrespect for the court by his own admission of concern for a political agenda over meticulous deciding on the law. He pronounces his disrespect for law enforcement.

Should we look to the children for the appropriate remedy to this situation? Would they suggest suspension or expulsion? The Wisconsin Supreme Court must be held to the highest standards of both dignity and integrity. Our confidence in this democracy depends on it.